


On a Dime

by LilyElk13



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Coming Out, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Genderfluid, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Hair Braiding, Loki Whump, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Slice of Life, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Whump, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-29 00:10:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15060818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyElk13/pseuds/LilyElk13
Summary: It's kind of nice. Loki may just have a friend in the tiny genius teenager who wants to braid her hair.





	1. One

Peter strolls into one of the less often inhabited sitting rooms, lugging a weekend’s worth of homework behind him in his schoolbag. He starts as he enters, realizing that he’s not alone. 

“Loki, wow, sorry, I didn’t know you were in here,” The teenager grabs the doorframe to steady himself. He’s been a little overloaded today, sensory-wise, and his already jumpy heart rate leaps straight up into the ceiling. 

“S’alright,” The god mutters, his head in his hands as he sits curled up on the couch. 

Peter takes a few tentative steps forward, rolling his backpack off his shoulders. His heart stops pounding and he takes a few breaths. “You alright there?” He asks.

“Headache,” Is the only thing Loki supplies. 

Peter eyes the man carefully. “Damn, those suck. I get them all the time.”

“Yeah.” 

“Do you… do you mind if I do homework in here? I’ll be really quiet, I promise.”

“That’s fine, but please, do be as silent as possible, child,” The god digs the heels of his hands into his eye sockets.

Peter lets the ‘child’ thing fly, as it’s clear that Loki’s not doing great. He covers the zipper of his backpack with his fingers as he opens it to reduce the noise, and carefully pulls out the materials he’ll need. He flops down in one of the cushy armchairs and begins his work. Both inhabitants of the room are silent for a long while, besides the light scratching of Peter’s pencil on his chem homework. 

“Mr. Laufeyson, sir, Mr. Odinson would like me to alert you that he is currently searching for you. May I give him your location?” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s mechanical voice rings out from the ceiling. 

“No, tell him to go away,” Loki groans, slumping farther onto the couch so that he’s almost laying down.

“My apologies, sir. It appears that your brother is already on this floor.”

Loki lets out a strangled noise and covers his head with a throw pillow. As if on cue, Thor bursts into the room. 

“Brother!” He booms joyously. “We have been looking for you!”

“So I’ve heard,” Loki grumbles into the couch cushion. “And its not brother today. Well, it was just a few seconds ago. Now its not.”

“My apologies, sister. Ah, hello Peter!” He greets the boy, who doesn’t notice. His gaze is focused on Loki, whose hair and eyelashes grow longer, cheekbones soften, and nose shrinks and turns slightly upward at the tip instead of straight right before his eyes. Loki turns on his-no, now her, side and Peter can now see the curves of a female back, a thinner frame and more cinched waist. She’s still tall and lanky, as always. 

But he doesn’t say anything, just shrugs and smiles at the god in front of him. “What’s up Thor!”

“We are going to have game night this evening, and Anthony and the Captain wish for you both to be present. The festivities will begin in half of an hour,” He explains. 

Peter looks at the large windows, which now filter golden light of the sunset. He had been so invested in his homework that he hadn’t even noticed it had gotten so late. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there! Just let me finish this project and I’ll be done for the whole weekend.”

“Sister?” Thor questions after nodding to the teen, the evidence of worry beginning to crop up in his blue eyes. His usually relatively engaged sibling hasn’t made any effort to talk.

“My head hurts too much to do much of anything now, to be completely honest with you, brother.”

Peter smiles in awe. The goddess’ voice his slightly higher, softer, and the teen is amazed that she’s able to change her body AND voice on a dime. 

Thor’s brow furrows in concern, and he sits on the edge of the couch, scooting Loki’s legs to the side so he has room. “Have you tried that medicine that Anthony uses when he doesn’t sleep for days? That seems to help him.”

“Doesn’t work,” Loki mutters, rolling onto her back and crossing her arms over her chest. 

Thor sighs. “I am sorry, my sister. I will ask Banner, perhaps he knows of something stronger that can help you out,” He places a hand on his sister’s forehead, and she swats it away immediately. 

“Just leave me here to die in peace, brother.”

Peter chuckles. “You’re sounding like a true Midgardian teenager. The fervent wish for death,” he laments dramatically, and Loki actually scoffs a laugh, but then winces like it hurts her head. 

Peter scrawls the last equation down and stands up, packing his things. “I can stay here if you want, to keep you company, I mean, if you like,” He offers, but Loki waves a hand. 

“Thanks, child, but no thanks. Go play your mortal games. You too, brother.”

Thor affectionately pats his sister’s shoulder and smoothes her hair, and to Peter’s surprise, she doesn’t flinch away, closing her eyes. “I’ll be up to check on you in a while, okay?”

“Mmkay. Now go. I have dying to do.”

Thor chuckles and pats Peter on the shoulder as they exit. 

“Lady Natasha and the man of hawks made dinner. It should be ready soon.”

“Cool!” Peter pauses, then begins to speak. “Can I… can I ask you a question, Thor?”

“You want to know about Loki?” The larger man smiles knowingly down at the younger one. 

Peter looks down sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. Has he alw- has she always been… genderfluid? Is that the term she uses? I know a lot of people use different terms and such, I mean, one of my best friends, MJ? She’s genderfluid, but she usually feels like a girl, like today, so I dunno what she calls it now, but I just want you to know that it’s totally fine with me, and with everyone, I mean, Steve and Bucky are bi and no one cares, so-”

“Slow down there, young one,” Thor’s voice is laced with amusement as he cuts off Peter’s ramble. He presses the elevator button and intructs it to take them to the common floor before continuing. “Loki came to me when we were children in her female form. When I asked about it, she simply explained she was feeling more like a girl that day. And that was all we spoke of it. She simply informs me of what she would like to be referred to as and I comply.”

Peter smiles. “You’re super great, you know that?”

Thor grins. “Thank you, young spider.”

“MJ’s parents? They refuse to respect the pronouns she feels on a certain day. If she feels like a boy, they still call her “she” and “her”. It really sucks for her. So I’m glad you support and respect Loki. It’s super important.”

The elevator chimes and the two get off. 

“It is a shame when a parent does not accept their child,” Thor agrees, looking solemn, and Peter has the feeling that maybe he and Loki have felt that way before, even if it wasn’t as a result of gender identity. 

They enter the homey living room to find Clint perched on the back of a chair, Natasha sprawled across the couch lazily dolling out Uno cards to Bruce and Sam, and Steve getting out a checkers board with Bucky sitting cross-legged on the carpet, waiting. He doesn’t have his metal arm anymore, just a stump that’s always wrapped in a sling tied around his neck. Today’s scarf is red and green striped, a notion that Christmas is just around the corner. 

They all greet the newcomers as they enter, and Natasha sits up so they can sit where her legs were on the cracked brown leather of the sofa. 

“No Loki?” She muses, straightening the remaining pile of cards into a neat stack in the center of the low coffee table, where Bruce and Sam sit on the floor behind it. 

“She wasn’t feeling up to coming down,” Thor explains. “Headache.”

Nat nods, blinking slightly at Thor’s pronoun choice, but seems to decide that she simply heard wrong. “Those suck.”

Clint leaps down from his perch and and snatches the backpack from Peter’s grip, ignoring the teen’s yelp of protest. “No homework allowed in here!” He dumps the bag down outside of the door. 

“I’m done with it!” 

Clint shrugs and leaves for the kitchen. “Still not allowed. We made homemade pizzas!” He calls. “They’re almost done!”

Soon after Peter and Thor settle down in the living room, Clint returns with Tony, their arms laden with trays full of steaming pizza. Everyone cheers and settles into a good night. 

~ ~ ~

It’s almost 11 o’clock when Peter returns to the barren living room that he’d left Loki in, under the premise of having left his calculator up there. Tony tells him to hurry and get in bed, as it’s late and Peter’s aunt will kill him if she finds out that Peter is still up, but Peter manages to convince him to allow for another hour. It is a Friday night, after all. 

Loki is still on the couch, but she’s sitting up now, a mane of thick, wavy dark hair tumbling over her shoulders. She’s only illuminated by the bluish lights of the TV that plays a random show from Netflix. She gives a soft smile to Peter as he enters. 

“Are you feeling better?” Peter asks, coming to sit on the chair he previously occupied. 

“Quite. Thor has already been up to check on me, and he asked Dr. Banner to give me some medicine. That has aided in my recovery greatly.”  
Peter’s quiet for a few moment while Loki exits the show and flips through Netflix, trying to find something else to watch. 

He stands and makes his way over to the goddess, sitting down next to her. She gives him a sideways look, as if not quite sure why the young boy is engaging with her. She still doesn’t know why everyone allows her in the tower, after what she did to New York, and she’s still wary. Sure, she hadn’t been in control then, but the Avengers don’t know that. She isn’t sure if this is all one big hoax to exploit her. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d succumbed to such efforts. 

But the kid is silent for a second, and then he points to the television screen. “Have you seen The Office?”

Loki shakes her head, and hesitanty clicks on it. “Would you be so inclined to watch it with me?” She says slowly. 

“Sure!” The kid is far too delighted by the prospect, and she rolls her eyes slightly, but presses play on the first episode. 

Peter sits close, knees pulled confortably up to his chest, but not so close that Loki is uncomfortable. She smiles and settles in too, gratefully for his company and position.

“Can I braid your hair?” Peter asks suddenly, and Loki freezes.

“Um, may I ask why?”

“I dunno, when I went to Wakanda, I met the princess there, her name’s Shuri, she’s my age, but anyways she taught me how to braid hair, we had to use Bucky to practice, who I think hated it but he let us do it and walked around with his hair braided for the rest of the day, so he must have been at least a little okay with it, and yours is longer and I wanted to practice some more, but if you don’t want to that’s fine, I just-”

“Sure,” Loki cuts him off, not taking her eyes off the TV.

“Wait, really?” Peter clearly wasn’t expecting that answer. 

“Yeah, sure. Need a brush?” She conjures one from thin air, and Peter marvels at it, eyes wide and TV forgotten. 

He plucks it out of her hand and turns it over, as if not quite sure that it’s real. “Have some hair ties there too, by any chance?”

Three appear in her hand out of nowhere, and she hands them to Peter, who squawks with excitement. Loki scoots off of the couch and sits cross-legged on the floor, with Peter’s legs on either side of her body so he can reach her head easily. And so they sit, while Peter carefully brushes out the goddess’ long hair and gently places each piece of a french braid in the correct spot by light of the television. 

“Can I ask you a personal question?” He asks, letting a strand go in order to slip the hairties onto his thin wrist. 

“I suppose me answering this question depends on what it is, but you may certainly ask,” Loki shifts into a more comfortable sitting position, careful not to mess the boy’s work up. 

“How do you know that you feel more like a girl? And how to do you change? It can’t be an illusion, because Thor told me you can’t touch your illusions or else they fade, so.”

“I honestly do not know how I feel more of one gender than the other,” Loki answers truthfully. “I just...know. And I have many forms, this female form being one of them. Each are just as real as the others.”

Peter makes a noise of agreement, and Loki closes her eyes, listening to the show and enjoying the feeling of the teenager’s fingers brushing through her hair. 

“How old are you?” Peter asks, readjusting his grip on the hair. He’s almost to the base of her neck now. 

“One thousand and fifty-three,” Loki recites, keeping her eyes closed. 

“Yeah, but how old are you in human years, do you know?”

Loki thinks for a minute. “About nineteen, I’d say.”

“Really!? I’m seventeen!” 

Loki smiles a bit but doesn’t respond to that, not wanting to diminish the teen’s excitement. She always manages to do that. 

“Here, sit up on the couch so I can braid all the way to the end. Your hair’s too long,” Peter pats the couch next to him, and Loki obliges. 

He’s almost finished when the half-open door swings wide and Tony enters. “Alright kiddo, time to pack up- what the- who the hell are you?!” 

Steve pokes his head in, concerned, not even caring to correct Tony’s language. He’s in sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, probably having been following Tony as they went to their respective rooms.

“Guys, guys, relax, its just Loki,” Peter explains quickly, still holding tightly to the end of the braid so it doesn’t unravel. 

“No, sorry, what?” Tony’s obviously confused. Steve’s eyebrows furrow the same way.

“It’s true, it is indeed me, Loki of Asgard,” Loki spreads her hands in a peacemaking gesture. 

“What?” Tony emphasizes again.

“Mr. Stark, Loki can switch whenever she feels like it… its called genderfluid, is that the term you personally use?”

Loki nods at Peter with a smile and looks up at Tony, her expression nonchalant. Tony stares in awe as Peter finishes off the braid and ties it off. 

“There, all done,” The kid lays the thick rope of hair down on the goddess’ spine and hops off the couch. “Thanks for letting me practice.”

“Not a problem, young one.”

Heavy footsteps indicate Thor’s arrival, and at the perfect time, too. Tony looks like he’s about to have an aneurysm, but Steve looks unfettered Peter suspects that Steve, being a member of the LGBTQ+ community himself, has done lots of research and knew all about genderfluidity. 

“Ah, sister! Feeling better now?” Thor booms. 

“Yes, nothing has changed since you last came to see me.”

Tony holds a hand out in front of him. “Sister?”

“Yes, Loki changes depending on the day. Well, I just came to say goodnight, Loki. And goodnight, Peter, Tony, Steve!”

“Night, Thor!” The teen chimes. 

And just like that, he’s gone. 

Tony is still bewildered, but soon enough Steve shrugs and says goodnight as well, confirming a training session with Peter for the next morning and leaving to go to bed. 

“Well, goodnight, Loki. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Peter smiles at the woman on the couch, who sweeps the long braid over her left shoulder and returns the grin. “Night, Mr. Stark!” He adds. 

Tony pats the kid on the back as he leaves, and turns to face Loki. 

“Are you going to kick me out of your tower like so many parents do to children who are like me?” She snarls. There’s challenge in her voice. 

“No,” Tony states simply. “First, I’d never kick someone out for something as stupid as that. And second, I’m not your father, so.”

He pauses for a moment, and then continues. 

“Peter talked me through all this kind of stuff when Steve came out, and I’m… I’m still not as educated and… well, as good, I guess, at this as I’d like to be. So, I guess I’m supposed to ask you what your pronouns are? But assuming that you can make your appearance match, can I just go off that?”

“Yes, you may.”

“Well, goodnight, Loki. I’m glad your head’s not bothering you anymore.”

“Thank you, Tony.”

The man nods before leaving, and Loki waits until he is gone before laying down and falling asleep right on the couch. 

She hadn’t messed this up, at least, not yet. Maybe it would be okay. 

No, it would be okay. 

She knew that now.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some more Loki and Spider boi fluff! Also domestic avengers fluff! bc I need it just like I needed CPR after Infinity War!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall, sorry for the short chapter, I haven't had much time to write, but I go such positive feedback on the first one so I wanted to get this out to you guys! I wanted to explore some of Clint being deaf, (Bc fuck you marvel he needs some representation) but I am not deaf myself, so if anything is not accurate, feel free to let me know! (I didn't go into a lot of detail in this chapter, its mostly referenced, but still) I might throw in some Stucky in the future so tell me in the comments if that is something you want!

Clint Barton sits cross-legged on top of the fridge, peeling an orange. As one does. He jerks out of his thoughts as someone thumps the door of the fridge with their palm, sending vibrations up to get his attention. 

He looks down to see Natasha smiling up at him. She hands him his hearing aids, which he had forgotten in his room, like he does every goddamn morning. 

“Thanks,” he signs, sending her a smile and accepting the small purple devices. He slips them in his ears and turns them on, the still slightly muffled sounds of life in the Avengers’ kitchen on a Saturday morning coming into focus. It’s comforting. A different kind of comforting than the silence that usually surrounds him, but he loves them both. 

He gazes over the polished white countertops and center island, where Bucky sits hunched over his coffee, looking absolutely dead inside. Steve’s next to him, lazily sketching something, his head resting on his folded left arm while he draws with the right. Both men are still in their pajamas and have some major bedhead. Sam is already dressed in athletic clothes, making omelettes for people. He’s probably going to go for a run later. Tasha’s dressed in all black, per usual, pouring herself a cup of steaming black coffee, her red hair still damp and curly from recently showering. No one else seems to be awake yet. Tasha butters some toast as it pops out of the toaster and passes it up to Clint on her way back to the table, who chuckles and thanks her again. He takes a big bite and promptly chokes when a beautiful dark haired woman steps into the kitchen. 

It takes a moment for it to click in Clint’s weird fucking brain that the appearance of the woman ties into the conversation Tony had with everyone in the group chat last night. It was the one conversation in that chat that Clint paid any attention to. He usually just randomly sends, what would you call them, ‘cursed’ images that he gets from the spider kid, but Tony had said it was important, so he listened. 

That’s a lie, he didn’t actually read them because Tony said it was crucial, he read them because Tasha had smacked him upside the head after he opened and immediately closed the convo.

AVENGER SQUADE Group Chat

Tony Stank: hey guys i have some important info so can y'all listen up for a second  
12:03 AM

Cap: yes what is up  
12:04 AM

Tasha: im listening. Clint is too he’s just not responding i have him here next to me tho  
12:04 AM

Bucky Barnes: What is it I want to go to sleep  
12:04 AM

Wanda Maximoff: yes?  
12:05 AM

Tony Stank: I know everyone hasn’t responded but i'm going to go ahead  
12:05 AM

Tony Stank: i had a chat with Thor and Loki, and i had FRIDAY ask Loki if it was okay to tell you guys, so don’t worry about that. Basically, Loki can change her gender whenever she wants, like right now she is a woman, so don’t be alarmed if a random woman just walks into the kitchen or something tomorrow, it's just her  
12:07 AM

Tony Stank: Just thought i’d let you guys know.  
12:07 AM

Bucky Barnes: ok cool I am going to bed goodnight  
12:07 AM

Tasha: thx for telling us :)  
12:08 AM

Cap: Glad she is feeling comfortable enough to be around us in her female form :)  
12:08 AM

Wanda Maximoff: doesn’t Peter have a friend who is genderfluid as well? Anyhow that’s cool thx Tony  
12:09 AM

Spider Kid: yeah wanda i do! her names MJ!  
12:10 AM

Tony Stank: Put your phone away and go to bed Peter it's past midnight  
12:10 AM

Spider Kid: I am, I am night tony, night guys!  
12:11 AM

And so here she is, Loki of Asgard, the Goddess of Mischief and Lies, standing in our kitchen. Well, like she has been for the past month or so, but now looking much different. 

Clint studies her for a few moments, and decides that she does indeed still look like herself, regardless of gender. Her nose is slightly smaller and more upturned in this form, and she now has the physique of a woman, all curves. She’s still super tall, but her face is softer, and her hair is wild and thick, a mane of midnight waves and curls hitting at her waist. She’s wearing a black tank top and black leggings, per her usual dark style. Her emerald eyes pierce through him as she looks up at the fridge. He smiles. She gives a quick smile back. They’d pretty much gotten over the whole I-tried-to-mind-control-you-and-it-was-pretty-awful-of-me-to-do-that thing. Clint’s grateful for it. He’s not one to hold grudges. 

No one reacts, besides giving a sleepy chorus of good mornings, and Loki seems to relax slightly, her shoulders sinking and her breath releasing. She strides to the island and sits down, running her hand through her long hair and sweeping it to one side. 

“Morning, Loki. Want an omelette?” Sam waves his bright purple spatula in the air invitingly. 

“No thank you.” She rests her chin in her hands.

Sam shrugs and goes back to his sizzling pan. Bucky yawns massively and nearly tips his stool back as he stretches, leading to him frantically grabbing onto Steve’s arm with a yelp to steady himself. Clint bursts out laughing and manages to slip off the fridge, landing on the unforgiving tile with a thump. 

Everyone laughs as soon as they confirm that he’s not hurt, and Tasha makes a note on her phone, starting the tally of minor injuries Clint will manage to inflict upon himself during the day. 

And thus starts a busy weekend in the tower.

~~~

Clint enters the living room, his laptop tucked under his arm. It’s pretty banged up, considering he drops it at least twice a day. It's a miracle it hasn’t broken yet. Loki sits cross legged on the couch, reading a book. The spider kid laying on his stomach next to her taking up the rest of the long couch, scrawling something in a large notebook. His feet swing absently, clad in fuzzy, mismatched socks. 

“What’s up guys,” Clint greets, leaping into the recliner in the corner. 

He gets only grunts in response.

Ugh. Teenagers. 

He sits and works for a while, with both other inhabitants of the room silent except for the scrawl of a pencil and the turning of pages. When he looks up, Peter is sitting up and leaning his head against the goddess as he writes, and Clint does a double take. As general knowledge, Loki hates being touched, even by her own brother. But Clint supposes that she has a soft spot for the kid. 

Who doesn’t, if he’s being honest. 

He smiles. It’s nice that Loki is getting a little more comfortable with people. Maybe, in time, she’ll want to be a part of this mismatched family. 

He hopes so. 

~~~

“I’m going out to get lunch with Ned and MJ!” Peter calls into the foyer of the tower. He gets no response.

“Mr. Stark is currently in his lab, would you like me to inform him of your departure, Mr. Parker?” F.R.I.D.A.Y asks from the ceiling. 

“That would be great, thanks Fri.. Could you tell him that I’ll be back in a few hours?”

“Of course.”

“Are you leaving?” A soft voice makes Peter jump, and he resists the urge to stick onto the wall. 

Loki stands in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest.

“Jeez, you scared me,” Peter chuckles. “Yeah, I’m going to get smoothies with my best friends.”

“Oh.” She fluffs her unruly hair, flicking it out of her face. 

“Yeah, MJ is one of them, she’s the one-”

“Whose like me,” Loki finishes the sentence for him, and Peter smiles. 

“Would you… would you want to come along? MJ and Ned won’t mind, they’d love to meet you.”

“I don’t wish to impose…”

“No, really, here, I’ll text them and ask,” The teenager pulls out his phone and begins to type.

“What will you tell them about me, like who I am and how we met?”

“I’ll tell them the truth, they already know about me being Spider-Man.” He doesn’t look up from the phone. It chimes and he holds the small screen up for Loki to see. “Look, they said they’d love to meet you. Exactly what I said.”

“Well, I suppose I cannot pass an opportunity for recognition, can I?” The two share a look, eyes sparkling with glints of laughter. 

“Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y.? Can you let Mr. Stark know that Loki is joining me on my lunch trip?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be about the lunch trip yEET. Thanks so much for reading, please comment if you enjoyed or if there's something I could improve upon! I love hearing from you guys! It literally makes my day! I hope you all are having a lovely day, you deserve it.
> 
> <3, Marina

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, this is my first fic on AO3 so if it sucks don't kill me! I felt like there's not enough soft fluff with the friendship between Loki and Peter P, so I thought I'd write some for it. I might add some chapters on Loki meeting the other Avengers as a woman, so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in! Hope you enjoy! I


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